Coconut Shrimp Recipe

I made these for my Mother's birthday two year's ago and now I am practically stalked by family members to make these on a regular basis. While I don't eat seafood, I'm told they are to die for, especially with an Orange Marmalade Dip.

2 pounds Raw Jumbo Shrimp
2 cans of Coco Lopez Piña Colada Drink Mix (Coconut Milk in a can)
2/3 of a cup of spiced rum
3 cups of cornstarch
3 cups plain breadcrumbs
3 cups flaked sweetened coconut
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 small jar of Orange Marmalade

De-vein shrimp, unless already prepared at the seafood counter. Make sure to buy jumbo shrimp and not popcorn or regular shrimp. I tried with smaller shrimp and they looked very "Long John Silver"- ish. Take the shrimp and gently coat in 2 cups of cornstarch. If this is your first time working with cornstarch, it may be easier to hold the shrimp by the tail, dip and shake off the excess cornstarch. You want a light coating on the shrimp, not a "caked" look.

Combine 1 and ½ cans of Coco Lopez, 2/3 of a cup of rum and 3 tbsp. of powdered sugar, mix well. Place shrimp in this mixture. I like to let the shrimp marinate for maybe half an hour so the coconut and rum flavor really takes to the shrimp.

While the shrimp is marinating, combine 1 cup of cornstarch, 3 cups breadcrumbs and 3 cups coconut flakes in a bowl, set aside.

Take your shrimp and individually dip into breadcrumb mixture, then back into Coco Lopez mixture and then once again, back into the breadcrumb mixture. I like to cover a cookie sheet with tinfoil and line up the shrimp until I'm ready to start cooking. (This saves time and it's also difficult to coat, dip, coat, fry, flip, coat, dip, coat….if you catch my drift.) The shrimp will also sit well overnight, making this a great recipe to make ahead of time for a party the next day.

In a large skillet, heat up your oil to about medium or 360 degrees. I always start out with the heat on medium-low. Place your shrimp into the oil, watching carefully to make sure they're not cooking too fast. They should just gently "foam" around the edges. Each side will take about 3 minutes, any less than that and your heat is too high! I find it easiest to flip the shrimp with a regular dinner fork, unless of course, you're apprehensive around boiling oil, then tongs or a spatula will work whatever you're most comfortable with!

Drain on paper towels or newspaper. These are best served right from the fryer, although keeping warm on a cookie sheet in the oven works as well.

To make Orange Marmalade, simply spoon the amount of marmalade desired into a bowl, add just a little Coco Lopez and mix well. I like to serve this marmalade mixture in a champagne glass and the shrimp on a small bed of either lettuce or garnish. Enjoy!